
Show Notes
Connor Watson has waited 11 years for his first NRL grand final – and on Sunday he'll (hopefully) line up against the Knights and his old housemate Kalyn Ponga.
It's the last Sportscafe of 2026, and Marc Ellis joins the crew for the season finale. Connor talks grand final week and facing Ponga's Knights, while the panel debates the hip-drop that cost Newcastle Phoenix Crossland, and whether the NRL needs an orange card. Lenny relives the Lions' four-minute grand final comeback from the MCG, Wharfie Time and all, along with the Norm Smith debate. Tayla hands out our end-of-season awards, Macca shares his hard-earned advice for a big night out, and two of the year's fan favourites return: the back-fence king and the Talbot Bay Birdwatching Club.
Travelling this summer? Get 15% off your first Saily eSIM with code SPORTSCAFE.
Download the Saily app and enter code SPORTSCAFE at checkout, or head to saily.com/sportscafe
Stay connected in 200+ destinations with no roaming fees and no physical SIM needed.
More from Sportscafe
At 13 he was 128kg, two metres tall and couldn’t do a chin-up. Straight out of school he gave himself two years to make it. Brodie Retallick joins Ric Salizzo and Marc Ellis live from Kobe. Brodie opens up on the 4.30am rowing sessions in Amberley that built him, the Chiefs pre-season where fights broke out every week, and the rivalry with Sam Whitelock that kept them both in the black jersey. He also covers the one thing he regrets about his career, whether a World Cup comeback is on the table, and why his daughters have seen him cry.
It's finals season across both codes, and we've got the perfect guests for it. Brownlow Medallist and three-time Brisbane Lions premiership player Simon Black joins us to gives us insights into AFL Grand Final, where he has the honour of presenting the premiership cup. He talks through what grand final week is really like, what he got wrong in his first one, the Lions' shot at three in a row, and why premierships are built over years, not a single season.
Connor breaks down the Roosters' qualifying final loss to Penrith, what has to change against Cronulla on Saturday night, and where Sam Walker's recovery is at.
Laurie Daley joins us three days out from finals week, with a read on the premiership race, the Blues' Origin decider, and an answer on whether he'd ever take an NRL head coaching job.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck joins Marc Ellis and Ric Salizzo on Herbie for Sportscafe Legends.